Archive for the ‘News’

The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) supports Philadelphia students participating in today’s (3/14) National School Walkout to protest Congress’ inaction on gun control legislation. A vast majority of Americans support more gun control, and our government’s years of inaction are yet another example of how we do not have a functioning democracy. Today we stand with the students and call for action on gun control in the Pennsylvania legislature.

The recent gun control legislation passed in Florida marks a major victory for student and family activists from Parkland. “We salute the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for turning this tragedy into a call to action. It’s thrilling to see young people stepping so powerfully and fearlessly into the role of activist to create the change they want, need, and deserve,” said Michael Georgeson, GPOP Recording Secretary.

The new legislation in Florida, however, does not go far enough in meeting the demands of the student activists and the demands of millions of Americans. The Florida bill does not ban assault weapons and does not ban high-capacity magazines, nor does it strengthen background checks. The bill does, however, allow superintendents to arm school personnel, a provision introduced by Democratic State Senator Randolph Bracy. The GPOP is baffled by this move as it ignores the clearly expressed views of both students and educators. The GPOP is firmly against armed personnel of any form inside of schools and believes that more guns in schools will lead to more children being shot, especially children of color.

This conversation about school safety fails to acknowledge the structural disinvestment from and neglect of our children and our social supports, thereby exacerbating social problems like poverty and inequality. Corporate politics have failed to connect the danger of school shootings with the original danger of structural inequality and the erosion of access to health and support services. It’s alarming that politicians can find the money to arm school personnel but not supply them with living wages or basic supplies like paper and up to date textbooks.

We call for the PA legislature to ban assault weapons, ban high-capacity magazines, and strengthen background checks. We also call for Greens in Philadelphia and beyond to support the student walkout by showing up at a walkout near you. As Claudia Elquist of the Green Party National Women’s Caucus said recently, “it’s time for us to simply show up, lend support, let the kids have the microphone…this is the time to follow, not to just send out press releases to the public.” We hope you’ll join us in applauding and standing alongside the students who choose to walk out today.

Members of the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP, www.gpop.org) elected their 2018 leaders while meeting at Shissler Recreation Center in Fishtown. The new leadership is young and energetic, two characteristics which will be useful in their rejuvenation of the Green Party. This was recognized by Margie Neary, the newly elected GPOP Membership Secretary, who had told the Greens, “lf elected, I would bring positive energy, organizational skills and fresh ideas to the position.”

The new GPOP City Committee will be the youngest in its history, and it is already faced with several long-term problems, including a dwindling Green Party membership. This is the result of a continuous membership slide during the past eight years.
Another obstacle is the constant turnover in Green Party leadership. New ideas and youthful vigor are, of course, beneficial to any political party. GPOP, however, has changed leaders every two years in the face of a 25 percent membership decline from 2,033 voters in November 2010 down to 1,551 voters in November 2017.

Fortunately, newly elected GPOP Chair Taj Magruder recognizes the challenge before him. In running for office, Magruder told the members in a campaign statement, “I want to increase the number of registered Greens and ensure we recruit and support more candidates for public office.” Most of the other members of his new City Committee expressed similar desires.

Christian Banch, newly elected as City Committee Member at Large, had spent 2017 on the Pennsylvania Green Party steering committee. Banchs gave a more specific anticipation of his plans for GPOP’s future. “Some things I would like to get done,” said Banchs, “would be to build on our infrastructure for communication with membership, recruit more members via increased outreach, build coalitions with organizations for issue based campaigns, increase the number of registered Greens in Philadelphia and recruit a candidate to run a viable campaign for upcoming elections.”

New GPOP Recording Secretary Michael “Georgie” Georgeson said, “My main goals going forward are to continue using my skills as a professional graphic designer and animator to increase the general public’s knowledge of the party and invite more people into our party.”

For information about the Green Party of Philadelphia, please email gpop@gpop.org. Follow them on Twitter at @GreenPartyofPHL and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreenPartyOfPhiladelphia.
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Chris Robinson is a freelance poet and writer. He was a member of the GPOP City Committee from 2011 until 2017. He may be reached at 215-843-4256 and nwgreens@yahoo.com.
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This meeting was chaired by Taj, and minutes were taken by Chris. Draft minutes were circulated for additions and corrections on 1/29. Hillary submitted one correction. Final minutes were posted to the membership on 2/1.

OLD BUSINESS
Report on GPPA Virtual Meeting
GPOP had five delegates present for the Virtual Meeting of GPPA on 1/21. Hillary reported that delegates elected a new GPPA Steering Committee. They also elected new Pennsylvania delegates to the GPUS. Two GPOP members were elected: Kristin Combs was elected to be a Member At Large of the GPPA Steering Committee, and Christian Banchs was elected to be a Pennsylvania Delegate to the GPUS National Committee.
Christian thought the virtual meeting process worked well, allowing free-flowing participation without the hassle of long travel time to the site.
Chris was pleased that GPPA has devised a structure which will be helpful in organizing the membership. There are now four GPPA Divisions (aka “Committees”): Operations, Communications, Green Wave, and Finance. Members who wish to help build the Green Party may now sign us for a specific GPPA Division. http://www.gpofpa.org/committees
Minutes from the GPPA virtual meeting were not available on 2/1/’18. [Minutes were posted on 2/12, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qWohCVCVXzfrZ0oc1wx7qd5cJZmP9okz.]

NEW BUSINESS
Winter Green Party
Taj said that the GPOP Outreach Committee has organized a Winter Party, on 1/27 which has been widely publicized to our membership. [Please see: “Announcements” for details.] People have RSVP’d to Facebook (12) and Eventbrite (?). Speakers will include Stuart Chen-Hayes and Olivia Faison, both of whom won election in 2017.

Create Ad Hoc Committee for “Poor People’s March”
Taj moved that GPOP create an ad hoc committee to work with the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) on their March on Washington to commemorate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s March, 50 years ago.
Christian volunteered. Others who are interested should contact him.

Consideration of City Committee Spending
Taj requested membership approval of the City Committee’s decision on 12/1 to contribute $500 to Puerto Rican Hurricane Relief. The membership approved this with one negative vote. [Hillary corrected this count: “Both Chris and Charles voted ‘No.’”]
Chris then proposed an amendment to the GPOP Bylaws which he said would allow the membership to clarify the Bylaws with regard to limitations on City Committee spending. Taj said that the proposed amendment would change the Bylaws rather than clarify them. A discussion was tabled until the February Membership Meeting. The proposed amendment is attached.

Nominations will remain open until the election, which will take place at 7:00 pm on 2/22 at the February Membership Meeting, Shissler Recreation Center. [Please see “Announcements” (below) for details.]
Chris will post the list of current nominees to the GPOP Membership and ask them for additional nominees. Georgie will post a second list of nominees to the GPOP Membership ten days prior to the February election meeting. Georgie’s posting will include a 100-word statement from each nominee, and a photo. Both statement and photo are optional.

Communications Working Group
Margie congratulated Georgie on his design of monthly membership notices. Margie also requested that Chris stop sending emails to the GPOP membership outside of NationBuilder.
GPOP members who wish to participate in the Communications Working Group are asked to contact Margie.

Outreach Working Group
Margie discussed the plans for the Welcome Party scheduled for 1/27. She said that Outreach has no additional events planned.
GPOP members who wish to participate in the Outreach Working Group are asked to contact Margie.

Electoral Operations Working Group
Chris said that the first EOWG Report of 2018, was posted to GPOP Representatives on 1/2. [Please contact Chris if you would like to read this Report.] There are currently 23 Green Party Representatives, nine of whom volunteered at their own polling place during the November General Election.
In response to a question about 2018, Chris said that Green Wave is not yet ready to announce Green Party candidates, but it appears we will have a candidate running state-wide for U.S. Senate.
Any GPOP member who wishes to become the Green Party Representative at their own polling place is asked to contact Chris at 215-843-4256 and chrisrecon@netzero.net.

Treasurer’s Report
Jarrett said that GPOP now has $1,063.33.

Additional Remarks
Cheri spoke about the two court cases resulting from her 2017 Special Election for Representative in District 197. The Federal Court Judge just handed down a 78 page decision, and Cheri’s lawyer is reviewing it. A Municipal Court hearing into electioneering in District 197 was held on 1/22, and a follow-up hearing will be held on 2/5. [Please see “Announcements” (below) for more details.]
Francis spoke briefly about his desire to run as a Green for elected office in Philadelphia.

Dear Green Party Representative.
I hope that you are looking forward to joining me in building the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) during 2018. In this report, I will offer you – and the other 22 Green Party Representatives – a peek at my perspective on GPOP’s future. For my reflections on the past year, I suggest that you reread last year’s EOW Group Report #8. http://www.gpop.org/news/?p=2438

Task: Recruit Green Party Candidates
Our most important task right now is to convince good people to run for office this year as Green Party candidates. Some of you may remember back in 2010, when some GPOP City Committee members approached Cheri Honkala to run for office. Seizing the opportunity, Cheri changed her registration to Green Party and ran in 2011 for Sheriff of Philadelphia. The following year she ran as a Green for Vice President of the U.S.
We are still searching for people to run in 2018 as Green Party candidates for PA State Representative. It is one of our tasks to convince good activists to run for office as Green Party candidates seeking single-payer healthcare, reparations for slavery, an end to fracking, a basic universal income, and an end mass incarceration.
To help you in this search, I have posted a news release entitled “Philadelphia Greens Seek Candidates.” You may forward this to movement lists and post copies where people gather. I have already forwarded this article to email lists of movement organizations which are in favor of single-payer healthcare, an end to mass incarceration, sustainable energy (instead of fossil fuels) and a cut in the Pentagon budge. http://www.gpop.org/news/?p=2448
Please send me the contact information for prospective Green Party candidates, and I will help you to convince them to run.

Task: Organize Campaign Workers
Our second task will be to organize GPOP members to become Green Party Representatives. Since you are already a Representative, I am sure that you know this means volunteering at your own polling place to assist our candidates. There are many other things you can do in your home division to help us build the Green Party, and I will explain some of them in a future Report.
Please let me know now if you plan to remain a Green Party Representative for 2018. While you are thinking of it, you might also let me know of things I can do to help you build GPOP.

Task: Build an Infrastructure to Win Elections
As you know from my 2017 Report #8, the GPOP membership has now created three Working Groups to assist you in building the Green Party. In addition to the EOW Group which was initiated in September 2015, our membership created an Outreach Working Group in July 2016, and a Communications Working Group in September 2017. Please consider joining any of these groups because they all need volunteers.
Interested? If so, I will gladly send you the proper contact information.
http://www.gpop.org/news/?cat=33
http://www.gpop.org/news/?cat=38
http://www.gpop.org/news/?cat=40

City Committee Elections
At the GPOP January Membership Meeting on Thursday, January 25, the Green Party will ask for nominations to the GPOP City Committee (think “Steering Committee”). There are seven elected officers on our City Committee. Please consider nominating yourself for the City Committee. If you would like more information, please contact me or read the section of the GPOP Bylaws on “City Committee” (Paragraph IV) and “Election of Officers and Delegates” (Paragraph VIII). http://www.gpop.org/news/?page_id=47

Please let me know what you have been doing to build the Green Party.

It is Good to be Green,
Chris Robinson, 215-843-4256
Membership Secretary
Green Party of Philadelphia

PS: Members of the GPOP EOW Group are called “Green Party Representatives.” According to a motion approved by the GPOP membership on September 30, 2015, the EOW Group has three tasks: “recruiting Green Party candidates who will campaign for office; organizing people to work on those campaigns; and building an infrastructure that will be able to win electoral campaigns.”
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Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) Bimonthly Report to the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA), January 21, 2018
Since November 18, 2017, the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) has held only one membership meeting. GPOP is now in the process of electing a new leadership.
The one meeting was our November General Membeship Meeting. Ten members participated, and two visitors. We celebrated the election of GPOP leader Olivia Faison as inspector of elections at her polling place. (Two additional GPOP members were also elected to office, but we did not know about their elections at the time of the meeting.)
The GPOP membership began its annual process of electing a new City Committee (think “steering committee”) by calling for nominations. Nominations will remain open until the February Meeting.
Since the last GPPA Meeting, GPOP has posted no News Releases, but the Philadelphia Party did issue a call for candidates to run as Greens during 2018. This call was described in “Philly Greens Seek Candidates.” http://www.gp.org/philly_greens_seek_candidates
Here are the events planned by GPOP. An account will appear in our next bimonthly report to GPPA.
January 25, GPOP Membership Meeting, 7:00 pm, Nominations for 2018 City Committee, at Shissler Recreation Center. http://www.phila.gov/findrec/RecCenterDetails.aspx?ID=831
January 27, Winter Green Party, 1:00 pm, at PhillyCam. https://phillycam.org/content/directions-phillycam
February 8, GPOP City Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm, at w/n w/n. http://www.winwincoffeebar.com/
February 22, GPOP General Membership Meeting, 7:00 pm, City Committee at Shissler Recreation Center. http://www.phila.gov/findrec/RecCenterDetails.aspx?ID=831

Come out to our Winter Party to meet local Greens and celebrate the wins we had in 2017!

Hear more about what we’ve been up to and see how you can get more involved. Speakers will include some of our newly elected Greens.

We’re being hosted by the gracious and spectacular folks at PhillyCAM (699 Ranstead Street) who will be filming the party to help us spread the Green word to their viewers. Come have fun and help us look good! It’s a potluck gathering so bring a snack or drink to share if you wish.

Check out the Facebook Event for more details or to let us know you’re coming.

The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) is seeking candidates to run for elected office in 2018. At their October membership meeting, Philly Greens issued a “Call for Candidates.”

Galen Tyler, Chair of GPOP, said, “Now is the time for people to step up and become leaders of an independent party. The coming year will provide a great opportunity for new candidates to take their first step into political waters. Most Green Party candidates will not be elected on their first campaign for office, but there have been surprises in Philadelphia when a dynamic candidate backed by vigorous volunteers has unseated an incumbent from a corporate party.”

“The Green Party is especially interested in interviewing those who have been traditionally excluded from running as candidates for the two corporate political parties. Our door is open for qualified women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ and other citizens who agree with the Green Party’s Ten Key Values,” explained Chris Robinson, Green Party Membership Secretary. The Green’s Ten Key Values are ecological wisdom, social justice, nonviolence, grassroots democracy, feminism, future focus, respect for diversity, community-based economics, personal and global responsibility, and decentralization.

“There are several good reasons to run for office,” continued Robinson. “A candidate running for the first time will gain both name recognition and practical experience. They will also have a media soapbox to educate the community around their special issues. In addition, they will be able to pressure the incumbent and give voters a choice, which is so often lacking in Philadelphia.”

During 2018, Representatives in every PA House District will be up for election, as will PA Senators in even-numbered Districts. Candidates seeking these offices must receive the endorsement of registered GPOP members and elected delegates to the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA).

Candidates for PA State Senator must be at least 25 years old, and candidates for PA House of Representatives must be at least 21 years old. Each candidate must have been a resident of PA and a citizen of the U.S. for the last four years, and a resident of the District for the last year. For more information about running for office as a Green Party candidate, please contact Chris Robinson, GPOP Membership Secretary, at 215-843-4256 and gpop@gpop.org.

Green Party candidates for office are coordinated and supported by GPPA Green Wave, a committee which offers a region-based network for candidates. Green Wave officials say that 2018 “could be a great year for local Green wins. Dissatisfaction with the two major parties is at an all-time high and people are looking for change that will bring hope for a peaceful, just, and stable future.”

The Green Party of Philadelphia is an independent political party founded on the four pillars of grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice. Follow GPOP on Twitter at @GreenPartyofPHL and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreenPartyOfPhiladelphia.
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A similar article appeared in Philly Voice.
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Green Party of Philadelphia calls for an elected School Board to replace the School Reform Commission

http://www.gp.org/gpop_calls_for_elected_school_board

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) applauds the tireless work of the grassroots coalition Our City Our Schools, whose pressure led Mayor Jim Kenney to announce on November 2 that he will abolish the School Reform Commission and return Philadelphia schools to local control. The state takeover of our schools by an unaccountable body has been a failed experiment, and this victory belongs to the many community activists who made their voices heard. However, Mayor Kenney’s decision to move to a model of a Mayoral-appointed board is a missed opportunity to reorganize Philadelphia’s public school system under the democratic control of its students, parents, and teachers.

The Green Party of Philadelphia calls for the new Philadelphia School Board to be democratically elected by Philadelphia’s voters. “To prevent a takeover by corporate interests,” said Taj Magruder, a Member At-Large of the GPOP City Committee, “our school board elections must be publicly funded and must use instant run-off voting. In addition, students and teachers should have their own elected representatives on our new school board.” Chris Robinson, the GPOP Membership Secretary, said, “The public school children in Philadelphia deserve an elected school board, just like the children in all of the other school districts in Pennsylvania.” The Green Party of Philadelphia stands with the Our City Our Schools coalition, which is also calling for a “People’s School Board — a board made up of the students, parents and educators.”

The Caucus of Working Educators, a group within the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and a member of the Our City Our Schools coalition, noted on their website in response to the Mayor’s announcement that they “did push for the conversation on [the what model should replace the SRC] to be transparent and take public input into account, calling for the creation of a citywide task force” to lead the conversation. Instead, as shown by Mayor Kenney’s statement to City Council, “it seems that a decision has already been made to commit to a particular model.”

In 2012, the Green Party of Philadelphia outlined a Proposal for Philadelphia Public Schools that included a series of reforms that need to be implemented to ensure that every child receives a public education that fosters critical and holistic thought, and provides the breadth and depth of learning necessary to become an active citizen and constructive member of society. In addition to calling for an elected School Board, those reforms include ending all attempts to privatize education, equalizing educational resources by challenging our discriminatory funding system in court, and ending the school-to-prison pipeline by removing “zero tolerance” policies, and ending high-stakes testing.

The Green Party is an independent political party founded on the four pillars of grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice. For information about the Green Party of Philadelphia, please call 215-843-4256 or email gpop@gpop.org. Follow us on Twitter at @GreenPartyofPHL and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreenPartyOfPhiladelphia.
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Communications Working Group
Statement of Purpose & Goals
[Approved by the General Membership Meeting, October 26, 2017.]

Purpose:
To professionalize, modernize and bring consistency to GPOP communications, both internally (among GPOP membership) and externally (with the public).

Goals:
1. Migrate to NationBuilder platform, which provides both a website and email component.
a. Approved at GPOP Membership Meeting on 9/28/17.
b. Next Steps:
i. Need current list of those subscribed to GPOP email lists
ii. Limit current emails from Chris’ Netzero Accounts to meeting reminders. Any other email notices to be sent to GPOP mailing lists should be approved by City Committee until new email system and procedures are established.
iii. Policies and procedures for sending emails to GPOP members will be established by the Working Group.
iv. Ensure content on gpop.org can be archived on Nationbuilder website or linked from there.

2. Authority to draft and disseminate Press Releases & Statements
a. One member of Working Group can draft a press release or statement; should be approved via email by 2 additional members of the Working Group.
b. Next Steps:
i. Need Press contact list to be shared with Communications Working Group via excel document or Google docs.

3. Social Media
a. Authority to manage Admin functions of Facebook and Twitter and establish policies and procedures for adding new Admins and posting messages/creating events.
b. Next Steps:
i. Determine who currently has Admin rights on Twitter and Facebook.
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Posted in Communications, Newswith Comments Off on Statement of Purpose, Communications Working Group

PHILADELPHIA, PA – On October 19, cities across the country will submit their proposals to become the home of Amazon’s new $5 billion headquarters. The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) City Committee condemns Mayor Jim Kenney’s decision to enter Philadelphia into this competition while ignoring the harsh reality of the poor and working class citizens of Philadelphia. Far from improving our city, an Amazon headquarters would only exacerbate the crises we already face.

Amazon, which made $136 billion in revenue in 2016, is demanding tax breaks from the city it selects as its new home. Philadelphia cannot afford any more corporate welfare. The city has already given Comcast a ten-year property tax abatement in addition to tens of millions of dollars for Comcast’s new Center City building. It seems Mayor Kenney, a willing participant in Amazon’s bribery, can somehow put money on the table for Amazon but can’t seem to do so for the people of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the U.S. Over 400,000 Philadelphians live below the federal poverty line, including 37% of the city’s children. Childhood hunger has more than tripled in parts of Philadelphia since 2006. But instead of using city money to end this crippling poverty, Mayor Kenney has promised millions of dollars to a massive corporation that only pays an average of 13% in taxes. Lauren Hitt, the Mayor’s communications director, has even said the city could overhaul its tax system for Amazon, saying, “We do have business taxes, but that’s something that could be looked at in the scope of Amazon coming here.”

Amazon claims its new headquarters will create 50,000 jobs, but Amazon has long been waging war against workers. The company has vigorously and consistently fought against its employees’ attempts at unionization and treats its workers with deadly disregard. In 2011, Amazon stationed ambulances outside its Allentown warehouse, where a lack of air conditioning allowed temperatures to rise over 100 degrees and caused 15 employees to collapse. A 2015 report by the New York Times detailed Amazon’s vile corporate workplace practices, including placing a woman who had recently had a stillborn child on a “performance improvement plan.”

According to S&P, Amazon “has been a major indirect contributor to higher housing prices and rents.” In Amazon’s current home of Seattle, rents have skyrocketed by 57% since 2011 and housing prices have increased as much as 13% per year. Philadelphia is already dealing with a housing crisis, and an Amazon headquarters would put that crisis into overdrive. The median house price in Philadelphia has soared 33% in the last decade, while the city lost 20% of its low-cost rental units between 2000 and 2014. By refusing to house the homeless but promising millions to house a multi-billion-dollar corporation, Mayor Kenney reveals his morally bankrupt priorities that put profits before people.

The Green Party of Philadelphia encourages all city residents to call Mayor Kenney at 215-686-2181 on Thursday, October 19 and tell him they oppose bringing Amazon to Philadelphia.

Taj Magruder, a Member At-Large of the GPOP City Committee, said, “It’s time to put a stop to corporate welfare in Philadelphia. We refuse to sell our city to Amazon.” Chris Robinson, GPOP Membership Secretary, said, “I agree with Taj that we must ban Amazon from Philadelphia. The Green Party sees the economy as being a support for a harmonious community and a healthy environment. Contrary to the two corporate parties, the Green Party platform says that ‘the giant multinational corporation [like Amazon] is the world’s most potent force for environmental and social destruction.’ Mega-monopolies like Amazon will find no friends in a Green Philadelphia.”

The Green Party is an independent political party founded on the four pillars of grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice. For information about the Green Party of Philadelphia, please email gpop@gpop.org. Follow us on Twitter at @GreenPartyofPHL and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreenPartyOfPhiladelphia.
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The Green Party has actively opposed SEPTA’s fracked-gas power plants proposed for Nicetown and other neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

Please take a look at this Energy Justice Petition. It lists seven excellent reasons why most people reject SEPTA’s proposal. If you feel that this petition speaks for you, please sign it and then forward it to your friends and neighbors.

We need your signature on the petition no later than October 19. So please sign it today.
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WASHNGTON, D.C. – The Green Party’s Peace Action Committee (GPAX) calls for the development of alternative solutions to violence on the International Day of Peace. GPAX, an official committee of the Green Party of the U.S., has chosen Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace (“Peace Day”), to announce its reorganization after a hiatus of several years.
“President Trump’s belligerent speech in front of the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly, with his appalling assertion that the U.S. would ‘totally destroy’ North Korea, show how urgently we need a strong movement for peace. The Green Party exists to represent the movement in the political field by an alternative to the two war parties,” said Rich Whitney, GPAX co-chair and Illinois Green Party member. “Mr. Trump’s threats, which blatantly violate the U.N. Charter, are unfortunately consistent with invasions and attacks launched by the previous two administrations against Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, and with U.S. aid for assaults by Saudi Arabia on Yemen and by Israel on Gaza,” said Mr. Whitney.

Greens said the U.S. Senate vote on Monday for a massive increase in the military budget to $700 billion, approved with bipartisan support, and Democrats’ enthusiasm for a new Cold War with Russia are further evidence that a revived peace movement is necessary.
Peace Day was founded in 1981 through a U.N. resolution. GPAX exists to facilitate the planning and achievement of peace and justice actions of the Green Party and to support and promote the party’s anti-war candidates and agenda. “We recognize that peace is not just the absence of violence, it’s a willingness to resolve conflict in a constructive manner and to develop alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence,” said Rita Jacobs, member of GPAX and the Green Party of Michigan.

The Green Party lists nonviolence among the Ten Key Values in its national platform. The platform calls for a number of measures to achieve peace, including the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, demilitarization in the Middle East, swift action against human rights violations, and adherence to international law and existing treaties.
“We believe that nations should prepare for peace, not violence. The achievement of peace can only be realized through practices that lead to economic justice, universal nuclear disarmament, sane defense spending, international cooperation, and human rights,” said Deanna Dee Taylor, GPAX co-chair and member of the Green Party of Utah.
GPAX furthers its mission and the Green Party platform through educational events and activities at the national and state levels.

MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States, http://www.gp.org, 202-319-7191, @GreenPartyUS.
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